Coil nail protector

ABSTRACT

A portable coil nail protector holds a single coil of nails and keeps the coil in the shape necessary to fit in a coil nail gun. The protector includes a base upon which a coil of nails can be placed, a lid attached by a hinge to the base for movement relative to the base between a closed position over and about a coil of nails on the base for holding the coil of nails in the protector and an open position permitting ready access to and removal of the coil of nails from the protector. The base includes at least one elongated opening therein for attaching the protector to a person&#39;s belt. Opening the protector by moving the lid relative to the base exposes the coil of nails for easy removal and fast installation into a gun.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention is directed to a portable container for holding an article, and more particularly to a portable nail protector for holding a coil of nails and keeping the coil in the shape necessary to fit in a coil nail gun.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Roofers commonly use a nail gun to drive nails into timbers or shingles. The guns accept a large number of nails, usually in the form of a spiral wound roll or coil formed of a plurality of individual nails arranged in parallel fashion and held together by a spiral wound tape or a pair of spiral wound thin wires, running transversely to the direction of the nails, and to which the nails are lightly adhered. The use of these nail guns increases the productivity of roofers, compared to that when nails are driven into place individually with a hammer.

[0003] Several techniques have been proposed for making coils of nails available to a roofer at the job site, without requiring the roofer to climb down from the roof, go to a nail box on the ground and load a coil of nails into his nail gun. According to one known technique, the roofer customarily loads a roll of nails into a pouch, which is typically made of cow hide, to carry the roll from a nail box containing a plurality of rolls or coils of nails, located on the ground, back to the roof. This known arrangement reportedly presents several problems, including the pouch getting in the roofers way when he leans over, and the nails being bent, particularly when the roofer leans over. Bent nails can jam in the nailer, preventing the nailer from functioning.

[0004] A second approach disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,663 employs a portable dispenser in which a plurality of coils of nails are stacked one upon the other. Like the pouch, the coil dispenser disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,663 is portable, permitting the roofer to take it to the job site. However, this known coil dispenser can be cumbersome to use as it requires special access and/or discharge openings through which the coils of nails must be manipulated by the roofer for loading a nail gun. The size and weight of the dispenser carrying up to eight coils of nails stacked upon one another can also intrude on the freedom of movement of the roofer in the case the roofer attempts to mount the dispenser on his/her belt.

[0005] There is a need for an improved coil nail protector which avoids these drawbacks and disadvantages of known containers for coils of nails.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention is directed to an improved portable container for holding an article and, more particularly, to an improved portable coil nail protector for holding a coil of nails and keeping the coil in the shape necessary to fit in a coil nail gun, which portable coil nail protector overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art. According to the present invention, the coil nail protector comprises a base upon which a coil of nails can be placed. A lid is attached to the base by a hinge for movement relative to the base between a closed position over a coil of nails on the base for holding the coil of nails in the protector, and an open position for permitting removal of the coil of nails from the protector. The base includes at least one elongated opening therein for attaching the protector to a person's belt. The direction of elongation of the elongated opening is in the plane of the base so that the base is held on its side, with the base in a generally upwardly extending orientation when the container is attached to a person's belt. This facilitates ease of opening, access and removal of the coil of nails from the protector. The protector preferably has a receptacle therein in the shape of the coil necessary of nails for keeping the shape of the coil for use in the nail gun.

[0007] These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a front side view of a coil nail protector according to an example embodiment of the present invention with the lid in a closed position on the base.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a top view of the coil nail protector of FIG. 1

[0010]FIG. 3 is a top view of the coil nail protector of FIG. 1 with the lid in an open position for loading/unloading a coil of nails into/from protector.

[0011]FIG. 4 is a top view of the coil nail protector as in FIG. 3 but showing a coil of nails loaded in the protector with the lid in an open position.

[0012]FIG. 5 is a side view of the coil nail protector of FIG. 4 with the lid closed on the base.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Referring now to the drawings, a portable container for holding an article according to the example embodiment of the invention is a coil nail protector 1 for holding a single coil of nails 2 and keeping the coil in the shape necessary to fit in a coil nail gun. See particularly FIGS. 4 and 5. The coil nail protector 1 comprises a base 3 upon which the coil of nails can be placed and a lid 4 attached to the base by way of a hinge 5 which permits movement of the lid relative to the base between open (FIG. 3) and closed (FIGS. 1, 2 and 5) positions. In the closed position, the base and lid form a receptacle within the container in the shape of the coil of nails for keeping the shape of the coil. In the example embodiment, the receptacle is round for holding the cylindrical coil of nails 2 therein. The base 3 includes a central annular projection 6 extending therefrom into the receptacle for supporting the core of the coil of nails in the central opening thereof.

[0014] Each of two opposite sides of the base 3 are formed with an elongated opening 7, 8 therein in the form of an open slot extending in the plane of the base for attaching the coil nail protector to a person's belt. The direction of elongation of the openings 7, 8 is such that the base so that the base is held in a generally upwardly extending orientation when the container is attached to a person's belt using either of the elongated openings. This orientation supports the coil of nails 2 in the protector 1 on its side so that upon opening the lid 4, quick access and removal of the coil of nails for installation in the nail gun are possible. Because the lid surrounds several sides, e.g., the top and annular side, of the coil when closed, the simple step of opening the lid largely exposes the coil for grasping by the roofer.

[0015] The provision of an elongated slot on each of two opposite sides of the base allows the user to mount the coil nail protector on a preferred side, his/her left or right side and in a preferred facing direction, the lid facing forwarding or backwardly, for convenience of use. In the example embodiment, the coil nail protector holds a single coil of nails 2 such that the overall dimensions of the protector are kept to a minimum to avoid interfering with the freedom of movement of the roofer. A releasable catch 9 is provided on the coil nail protector for releasably holding the lid in the closed position on the base as depicted in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5. The catch 9 comprises a lid snap button on the lid 4 and a cooperating lid snap catch 11 provided on the base 3.

[0016] The coil nail protector 1 in the example embodiment is preferably formed of an injection molded, high impact plastic, {fraction (1/32)} inch thick, for example, to retain the shape of a coil stored therein. In use, the coil nail protector provides a light carrying case for the nails needed when roofing, avoiding so many trips off the roof to retrieve the nails. It provides easy access to the nails and keeps them in the exact shape needed to eject properly from the nail gun. The roofer is able to put one or more coil nail protectors on his/her belt. The coil nail protector also provides faster installation of the nails into the gun and helps avoid the misfires because of the coil losing their perfect round shape, that is, the protector holds the exact shape of the coil of nails from the box from the supplier to the gun.

[0017] While we have described the subject invention with respect to a single example embodiment, various other changes and modifications to be made therein by one skilled in the art without varying from the scope or spirit of the subject invention is defined by the appended claims. 

I claim:
 1. A portable container for holding an article, comprising: a base upon which an article to be held by the container can be placed; a lid attached to the base to permit movement of the lid relative to the base between a closed position over an article on the base to hold the article within the container and an open position to permit removal of an article from the container; and wherein the base includes at least one elongated opening therein for attaching the container to a person's belt.
 2. The portable container according to claim 1, wherein the base and lid in the closed position thereof form a receptacle in the container in the shape of the article to be held for keeping the shape of the article held in the portable container.
 3. The portable container according to claim 2, wherein the receptacle is round for holding a single cylindrical coil of nails therein.
 4. The portable container according to claim 3, wherein the base includes a central annular projection extending therefrom into the receptacle for supporting the core of a coil of nails therein.
 5. The portable container according to claim 1, wherein the portable container is formed of molded plastic which is shape retaining for keeping the shape of an article held therein.
 6. The portable container according to claim 1, wherein the lid is attached to the base for movement between the open and closed positions by a hinge.
 7. The portable container according to claim 1, wherein each of two opposite sides of the base are formed with an elongated opening therein for attaching the container to a person's belt.
 8. The portable container according to claim 1, wherein the direction of elongation of the elongated opening is in the plane of the base so that the base is held in a generally upwardly extending orientation when the container is attached to a person's belt.
 9. The portable container according to claim 1, further comprising a releasable catch for releasably holding the lid in the closed position on the base.
 10. A portable coil nail protector for holding a single coil of nails and keeping the coil in the shape necessary to fit in a coil nail gun, the coil nail protector comprising: a base upon which a coil of nails can be placed; a lid attached to the base to permit movement of the lid relative to the base between a closed position on the base for holding a coil of nails in the protector and an open position permitting removal of a coil of nails from the protector, the lid extending over several sides of a coil of nails on the base when the lid is in the closed position; and wherein the base includes at least one elongated opening therein for attaching the protector to a person's belt.
 11. The portable coil nail protector according to claim 10, wherein the base and lid in the closed position thereof form a receptacle in the protector in the shape of the coil of nails to be held for keeping the shape of the coil of nails held in the coil nail protector.
 12. The portable coil nail protector according to claim 11, wherein the receptacle is round for holding a single cylindrical coil of nails therein.
 13. The portable coil nail protector according to claim 12, wherein the base includes a central annular projection extending therefrom into the receptacle for supporting the core of a coil of nails therein.
 14. The portable coil nail protector according to claim 10, wherein the portable coil nail protector is formed of a shape retaining, molded plastic.
 15. The portable coil nail protector according to claim 10, wherein the lid is attached to the base for movement between the open and close positions by a hinge.
 16. The portable coil nail protector according to claim 10, wherein each of two opposite sides of the base are formed with an elongated opening therein for attaching the container to a person's belt.
 17. The portable coil nail protector according to claim 10, wherein the direction of elongation of the elongated opening is in the plane of the base so that the base is held in a generally upwardly extending orientation when the container is attached to a person's belt.
 18. The portable coil nail protector according to claim 10, further comprising a releasable catch to releasably hold the lid in the closed position on the base.
 19. A portable coil nail protector for holding a coil of nails and keeping the coil in the shape necessary to fit in a coil nail gun, the coil nail protector comprising: a base upon which a coil of nails can be placed; a lid attached to the base to permit movement of the lid relative to the base between a closed position over the top and side of a coil of nails on the base for holding the coil of nails in the protector and an open position permitting removal of a coil of nails from the protector; and wherein the base includes at least one elongated opening therein for attaching the protector to a person's belt, wherein the base and lid in the closed position thereof form a receptacle in the protector in the shape of the coil of nails to be held for keeping the shape of the coil of nails held in the protector, wherein the direction of elongation of the elongated opening is in the plane of the base so that the base is held in a generally upwardly extending orientation when the protector is attached to a person's belt, and wherein a releasable catch is provided to releasably hold the lid in the closed position on the base.
 20. The portable nail coil protector according to claim 19, wherein the protector is formed of a shape retaining, molded plastic. 